frugal hedonism

Contents

Notes on the book The Art of Frugal Hedonism, a manifesto and manual for increasing your happiness while reducing your consumption. Without using the term, it essentially advocates for Degrowth at the personal level: slow down, waste less, and get off the hedonic treadmill that’s killing the planet and stressing us out.

Chapters

“Create your own normal” reminds us that consumerism is a modern development, and one not in our interest. It’s harmful for individuals, for societies, and the planet, and it’s been foisted on us by those who benefit from it. We can choose another path.
“Relish” suggests we get out of our brains and into our senses: smell flowers, savor flavors, feel the wind on our faces and the grass beneath our feet. Such experiences are cheap or free.
“Be materialistic” perhaps surprisingly suggests that we care for the possessions we do need instead of buying and replacing crap all the time. Mend clothes and sharpen knives. While quality things cost more up front, they can be found free or used and will save you money in the long run.
“Have a lot of things you want to do with your freedom” should have come first, it’s so important. While you might want to reduce consumption for the sake of your family or the planet, it’s okay (and perhaps more convincing) to do it for selfish reasons too! Consume less so you can work less and enjoy life more. It’ll take some adjustment to bow out of the rat race, but freedom is priceless.
“Hate waste” is a sobering reminder of how much of what we buy ends up in a landfill before long. (Including a shocking 38% of food purchased in the U.S.!) Remember that waste on that scale was a social engineering project designed to order to increase consumption.
- Don’t buy things you’re likely to throw away soon.
- Before throwing something away, try to find a use for it (e.g. save clothes for cleaning rags, newspaper for cleaning windows, or paper for gift-wrapping)
- Before buying something, first try to get it secondhand.
“Recalibrate your senses” suggests we may be addicted to various forms of consumption, relying on over-consumption just to feel okay. If we can step back and reset, we’ll both save money and get more joy (see “Relish” above) out of that milkshake if it’s a rare summer treat instead of a daily frappuccino habit.
“Have an open relationship with recipes” encourages us to get creative in the kitchen. Instead of buying and wasting most of that $3 pack of dill for the sake of one meal, substitute it for something from the garden or around the block. (It’s no wonder the authors also have a book on foraging edible weeds.)
“Don’t be a sucker” reminds us how toxic most advertising is, making us feel inadequate one moment, then trying to convince us their product is the only way to feel better. Ignoring advertising will do more than save you money, it’ll save your sanity.
Like the above, “stop reading those magazines” cautions against consuming media that makes you want to buy things, since it inherently makes you feel dissatisfied with your current self and circumstances.
“Romanticise other eras” reminds us how novel and aberrant our current era of overconsumption is. Look back to almost any other era for inspiring stories of self-reliance, community-building, or adventure, none of which involve much shopping.
“Beware fake frugal” cautions against products that attempt to appear frugal but are only cheap as a result of exploiting someone else. “If it’s cheap to buy, but at the expense of someone or something else, it’s Fake Frugal, and it’s just not fair.”
“Enjoy excess” tells us not to be ascetic. Indulge occasionally, but intentionally, as a ward against envy.
“Listen to the habit scientists” touches on research on the fallibility of willpower. If you want to change a bad habit, don’t just try to stop doing it—replace it with a good habit. For example, if you want to give up the expensive, sleep-depriving afternoon latte while still relishing the stress-relieving moment’s break it offered, try replacing it with a ritual of making a pot of fancy herbal tea.
“Don’t buy drinks”, as they’re typically the most marked-up thing on the menu, rarely nutritious, and you can easily carry a water bottle.
“Find free ‘third places’” stresses the psychological and social benefits of third places (hangouts that aren’t work or the hoem), and suggests a number of free, public ones: for example libraries, parks, public squares. Bring a friend if you have trouble making new ones.
“Don’t think about money” suggests we get out of the habit, deeply ingrained by consumerist culture, that buying something be our primary way of solving problems. You’ll save money and learn a bunch by solving more problems with your own resources or by leaning on friends and neighbors. Speaking of which…
“Revel in the good brain chemistry of resourcefulness” reminds us how good it feels to solve a problem with your brain instead of just throwing money at it.
“Grow your own greens” suggests herbs and leaves as a great introduction to growing your own food, as they’re fairly easy to grow and have a high price and environmental cost when bought in the grocery store due to perishability.
“Get in touch with your inner hunter-gatherer” suggests we learn about the food freely and readily available in our environment, from fruit trees to edible weeds (with caution, of course)
“Indulge your curiosity” praises the entertainment value of learning. Instead of going to the movies or a restaurant, try having friends over to learn something or practice a new skill together.
“Don’t be a selfish % $*#” may sound judgey, but if it motivates you, remember that you probably don’t want to be consuming/hoarding resources while others (now and in the future) don’t have enough.
“Remember the world of 1950s’ sci-fi” reminds us of the dream, which once seemed obvious, that increased automation would lead to people working less and enjoying more leisure. Instead, consumerism has us working more than ever so that we can, and have to, consume more than ever, but it didn’t have to be that way.
Similarly, “Swot up on the history of work” reminds us that people worked a lot less for most of human history! The expectation that our lives revolve around work is relatively modern and was violently foisted on us.
“Bring a bag” offers the practical suggestion to carry a bag or backpack. Bring water and a snack on the go so you don’t have to purchase any, and it can help you carry home free stuff like fruit from a tree or giveaways from someone’s curb.
“Notice when you have enough“ suggests we make a habit of feeling gratitude. It’s great for your health, and builds a bulkwark against the feelings of inadequacy that advertising is constantly trying to kindle within us.
“Reinvent Christmas” offers alternatives to how we typically spend the most consumerist holiday of the year (at least in the Western hemisphere): ask for and give handmade gifts or experiences like time together, and remember a thoughtful note will tell someone you care about them much more than another tchotchke.
“Be a character” reminds us that a personality isn’t something you can buy (much as advertising tries to convince us otherwise).
“It won’t be dull. We promise” walks through a day in the author’s life when she lived in a Romanian village. She tends a farm, helps neighbors, and stays busy all day despite not engaging in explicit work or entertainment, mainly by having the room in her life to spend time with neighbors and solve her own problems.
“Do business with friends” celebrates barter and trade as a way to save money and build relationships with friends and neighbors. Trade art for help painting a room, homemade pickles for moving, etc. I’m reminded of Debt: The First 5,000 Years and how mutual debt and trade were what bound communities together for nearly all of human history. Exchanging currency, now the norm, was reserved only for interactions with strangers or untrusted groups. In other words…
“People who need people are the luckiest people in the world” argues that the promise of money to save us from depending on others is a terribly lonely way to live. Depending on (and being depeneded on by) a community is an essential part of the human experience.
“Have a fine ol’ peasant time” acknowledges that not paying people for things can mean you have more to do yourself, but suggests this isn’t all bad. Get in the habit of doing mindless stuff (e.g. preparing food, mending clothes) while you hang out, especially with friends. You’ll save money and get more done.
“Put on your favourite power anthem, and be the Zeitgeist” suggests we take inspiration from the fact that frugal hedonism and not buying into mainstream consumerism can feel rebellious and badass.
“Travel cheap” offers tips for enjoying one’s newfound free time by living more adventurously: taking road/bus/train trips and getting off the beaten path are cheaper than airplanes and big touristy spots, and more interesting!
“Liberate yourself from the terror of grime” suggests we save time and money by not buying into the antibacterial industrial complex. A tidy home is one thing, but you don’t need to kill every microorganism you come across, and will actually be less healthy if you do.
“And a wee tiny comment on condiments” offers a small, practical kitchen tip: instead of buying fancy flavored oils and vinegars as well as things marinated in them, just marinate your own and save the liquid.
“Undercomplicate things” reminds us that the most frugal and sustainable solution is often the one we already have. Instead of sending your old gas furnace to a landfill and buying a more efficient one, find and fix the drafts in your house so you don’t need to use that old furnace as much.
“Figure out what you really do enjoy spending money on” tells us to pay attention to what makes life worthwhile—adventure, relationships, learning—and focus our spending on those so it’s easier to spend less in other areas.
“Free up your frivolity” suggests we trade the frivolous spending for more whimsical living. Instead of an unnecessary purchase you’ll have to work overtime to afford, get off at a random train stop and explore a new neighborhood with the time you’ll save by spending and working less.
“Limit the burden of choice” advises we find things we like and stick with them. This avoids the expense and mental angush of trying to decide among 50 different, ever-changing options at the store.
“Don’t be a snooty bum bum” shares a study showing that most people (and even most professional wine tasters) cannot tell the difference between a $5 and a $30 bottle of wine. Remember that when we splurge on things, it’s often the feeling of spending gratuitously that makes us feel good, not the actual experience of what we buy! So let’s not kid ourselves.
“Self-propel” is a celebration of the humble bicycle as a means of transportation that offers the most freedom for the lowest cost (which may even be negative if you’re replacing a gym membership!) That said, I wish the chapter acknowledged that not everywhere makes it safe to cycle, but things are improving.
“Have less house” reminds us that construction is one of the most financially and environmentally costly activities humans engage in. At the scale of individual homes, “remodeling” is a relatively new concept: most people bought a right-sized house and fit their life into it, rather than endlessly upgrading their house in the hopes of improving their life.
“Let yourself be grossed out” is another reminder that if our wasteful, consumerist society makes you feel a little queasy, that’s a normal response to profligate resource consumption in a species designed to live within the natural limits of our environment. Don’t dwell on it if it makes you sad or bitter, but do let the feeling encourage you to scale back.
“Acclimatise to the seasons” encourages us to save money on heating and air conditioning by wearing sweaters indoors in winter and letting yourself feel warm in the summer. Our bodies evolved to experience seasonal change! There’s no need to burn down the world fighting it.
“Some notes on style” suggests we construct a personal style from secondhand clothing, as it’s cheaper and more unique that paying top-dollar for someone else’s runway look.
“Save (on) the children” thankfully begins by acknowledging that the authors are not parents. Kids are expensive, especially in parent-hostile countries like the United States, and parents have it hard enough without being told to somehow make do with less. Instead, the authors offer a number of practical (and questionably practical) suggestions for building frugal habits in kids like giving them an allowance to manage for themselves, spending time outdoors instead of commercial entertainment, walking to school or the store, or moving closer to family for the free help and increased quality time.
“Don’t give up just because you gave in” counsels that we give ourselves grace and remember that frugal hedonism is a lifelong journey; one needn’t be perfect all the time.
“Bow down before the nanna and get ahead of the curve” praises the (supposed) frugal values of our grandparents and suggests that given the cyclical nature of history (and the likely effects of climate change), such values will likely come back into style. So far from being outdated, frugal hedonism is likely ahead of its time.
“Give something” celebrates giving gifts and helping those in need. Nothing makes you feel as good about what you have as sharing with those who don’t have enough, to say nothing of the value to the recipient themselves.
“Sup at the cultural buffet” celebrates the vast panoply of human culture throughout history and across the globe—music, recipes, languages, and more—most of which can be experienced for free or cheap. Given what an incredible time it is to be alive, isn’t it kind of sad to waste our time and money pining over the 10% faster CPU on the latest model of phone? Likewise…
“Look up, think about constellations. Look down, think about magma” closes the book with the perspective that, like human culture, the natural world costs nothing—in fact recoiling from consumerism will even help us save it—and it will blow our minds wide open if we let it. So let it.

Chapters

Mentions

Epicurus